John Singer Sargent was born in Italy of expatriate parents. He trained in Florence and Paris (studying under Emile Auguste Carolus-Duran). He settled in London around 1884/5. There he painted not only high society which he is most famous for today, but brilliant watercolours. He also visited the US frequently.

His most notorious picture is Portrait of Madame X (Mme Gautreau) (1884). When it was originally exhibited in Paris it produced such a negative reaction that it was one of the reasons he moved to London

Influenced by Velazquez. Saw in his work when he visited Spain in 1880